U.S. Gasoline Prices Drop 2.3 Cents in Latest Week

U.S. retail gasoline prices fell 2.3 cents to $3.58 a gallon during the last week, the third consecutive drop this month, the U.S. Energy Department said.

The national price for regular unleaded gasoline remained 87.7 cents higher than it was a year ago, the department said.

This is the third week in a row that gasoline prices have declined, following five weeks of increases.

Oil prices, which account for about 65 percent of the cost of making gasoline, traded up $1.86 on the New York Mercantile Exchange to settle at $84.12 a barrel on Monday.

While oil prices have begun to recover from their steep slide at the beginning of August, they remain well below levels around $100 a barrel hit last month.

Diesel prices fell 2.5 cents week-on-week to $3.81 a gallon, though that was still up 85.3 cents from a year ago, the department said.